


After

by MelindaCoulson4



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Man Out of Time, Unresolved Sexual Tension, philindaisy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25139794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelindaCoulson4/pseuds/MelindaCoulson4
Summary: Post 7x06. After waking up from the hyperbaric chamber Daisy gets some time to feel. May is there to break the news of LMD Coulson's fate. Sousa is also there and they share a moment.
Relationships: Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 20
Kudos: 236





	After

Daisy tried to fight, but her body would not respond. The extraction of her powers had happened and she could do nothing. _Mom_ , she thought. _No, not mom. Jiaying_. It was Jiaying all over again. A terrible nightmare had come to life. There was a sea of great pain for a while. Fog surrounded her. She floated on what felt like a poorly constructed wooden boat. There was no telling where she was heading. Weakness lingered. Her limbs grew heavy. After a while, she could barely feel. There was only the rhythmic rocking of the current sweeping her away. Away from what...she could not say. Until she felt a small tug on her hand. Her fingers twitched against it and she believed it to be a fish nibbling at her.

Feeling within the tips of her fingers and toes slowly came back. Her arms and legs tingled. The boat came to a startling halt and she knew this was the end of the sea. Before she had a chance to do anything, there was a booming sound. Her world turned upside down and her body was tossed from the safety of the boat.

The air had changed. It was sterile and cold while before she could taste the spray of salt and feel the wind in her hair. She blinked through heavy-lidded eyes. A shadow stood at her side. _Malick_. She couldn't remember what else he was going to do. All she knew was that it was guaranteed to hurt. No, this could not happen. A deep instinct to flee took over. Adrenaline rushed through her veins. Her body awakened. Some strength had returned to her. She would fight or die trying.

A hand touched her fingers. It was warm and held on in a soothing grip. The instinct to fight quieted. She somehow knew that it was not Malick. Testing her eyesight, she looked at the shadow again and found that it had morphed into a person. _Mom and safe._

It was May.

The urge to sit up took hold, but when she tried it was as if she was locked in a vat of cement.

"Hey...easy," May said.

"I can't move," Daisy whispered, panic taking hold. It reminded her too much of what she'd felt in that barn.

May's hand went to her shoulder, pressing her back down. Gentle, yet firm. "It's just the meds. They'll wear off. I felt the same way in there." Her voice was calming as the sea Daisy had been floating in. But that had only been a dream. Now she was awake and back on the zephyr. She was home.

A metal dome surrounded her. She knew it well after spending time by May's side after Izel had stabbed her. Now their places were reversed. The hyperbaric chamber encased her body in glass while alternating beams of light traveled up and down the length of it. The side that May stood on was all open air. The chamber door had been lifted, giving May the ability to reach out to her.

When Daisy looked back up she was met by soft eyes. May's face was no longer a mask like it had been since the end of Sarge. Something was different. The usual sleek black style of hair she wore was gone. In it's place was a frizzy mess, tied back behind her ears. Dark circles lined her eyes. She looked completely drained and noticeably putting too much effort in keeping herself impassive.

The space around them seemed too great. Wide open yet empty, missing a key piece. Daisy's eyes scanned what they could from her position, but all she could see was a much too bright overhead light and a deep rich blue coming from May. That particular color wasn't exactly one that popped up frequently in May's wardrobe. Focusing more, she realized the blue fabric belonged to a baggy jumpsuit. Clearly from a different time and definitely not by May's choice. There was a small rip down the left side of her arm. The fabric clung by a thread to stay together.

Daisy took a moment to swallow past the dryness of her mouth. "What happened? Where's Coulson?" She asked. Out of everyone else he would be here too. He and May had gone into the lighthouse together. They always came as a pair, whether May wanted it or not. Where one was, the other was never far behind. Except now.

It only took one look at May's face to know. No matter how hard May tried to hide, Daisy could read her well.

Daisy's eyes flickered to the ceiling. Her nose burned. To hold the tears at bay, she took a deep steadying breath in. The hand at her shoulder retreated, but the one May had around her fingers suddenly squeezed hard. Bones in both their fingers smashed together in a bruising force.

May's eyes squeezed shut. A shuddering breath left her. Her head bowed like she was about to be sick. Almost as soon as it started, May put an end to it. On a gasp, May's eyes opened and she severed their physical connection. Lips pressed into a thin line, May's eyes flickered away.

"How?" Daisy whispered. It was the only word she was able to make herself say. _How could he die again? How did I lose him again after he just came back?_

"To save us," May said. Her arms crossed over her chest. It was a protective gesture. One to keep herself together. "The chronicoms had already stolen the faces of 3 agents. They wanted to replace and infiltrate the Lighthouse from within...had dozens of blank-faced bodies ready to go. He took them all out in one sweep."

It sounded awfully familiar. The LMDs had tried doing the same to their base when Mace had been director. Daisy thought back to the way that that LMD of Coulson moved and spoke. Directive driven and devoid of all humanity, entirely different than the one Simmons had designed. Clearly he had his own emotions and thoughts. When he was around, he made the pang of Coulson's loss hurt just a little less. And now it had cost her, hurting almost the same as when she said that final goodbye to Coulson on the ramp of the zephyr.

"There wasn't another choice," May said.

"Isn't that always his excuse?" Daisy asked, anger bleeding through her tone. Choosing the sacrifice play without consulting any of them seemed to be his go to plan. It left the rest of them behind with too many scars to count.

"It was the truth this time," May said.

Daisy couldn't tell if that was the actual truth or if May was just saying that to spare her feelings. Their shared heartache was sharp, biting, and all too familiar. She reached out to May, but only succeeded in brushing May's wrist. The instant their skin touched, May flinched back.

Daisy couldn't help but gape at her. She met watery eyes.

"I'm sorry. It's...a lot to feel." May's breathing picked up. Her eyes squeezed shut as if fighting off a bad migraine.

_The empathic power_ , Daisy had forgotten about it. Any touch brought on a rush of feelings for May. All this time she'd been feeling double. "No, I'm sorry. God, May, I should've been there for you." Missions had piled up, as they always seemed to do, leaving no time for the personal.

"Kind of hard to do when I wouldn't let you," May said simply.

That was true. After Sarge, May enacted a great distance from everyone. It reminded her of the May from the beginning: when Coulson was just an agent and Fitzsimmons were just friends. Back when Daisy couldn't understand May at all. Coulson had been the only one with the power to drag May out of herself. Sometimes, without him, May reverted back to that state. It was moments like that that Daisy missed Coulson the most. Because it felt like she had lost both of them.

Coulson had died. May had died. And now she, herself had come startlingly close. Life was too short to hide how she felt.

"I love you, May," Daisy blurted. She'd made it clear to Coulson, but only ever implied it with May.

May blinked. "Daisy-"

"You and Coulson are my family and I just need you to know. Okay?" She felt tears falling down her cheeks. She sucked in air. The drugs were making her emotional, but the words still rang true.  
  
May reached out. Her hand hovered over Daisy's. May swallowed, preparing for whatever would come when they touched. Then May laid her hand on top. She gasped but held on.

All Daisy could do was watch as May fought against some emotional storm. In an attempt to help, Daisy breathed deep and slow. The distressing lines on May's face smoothed out. Her breathing returned to normal. She stood taller and kept their connection. "I love you too," May said.

Daisy's heart mended a bit in that moment. Feeling a bit delirious with relief, she laughed.

May laughed too. They both wiped their tears away. She wished that Coulson could be with them. Witnessing this moment would've brought him immeasurable joy. It was a sobering thought. She felt the ache of his loss again.

"He'll come back. Somehow. I know he will," May said, then nodded once as if sealing the deal with the universe. If Melinda May was so sure of something then it must be true. "In the meantime we keep fighting...together. That's what he would want." May delivered a gentle squeeze. 

"Together," Daisy agreed. That sounded nice. She felt closer to May than ever before.

The smell of dust and wood came back to her then. That sticky heat as her clothes stuck to her body from sweat. How her head pounded and her limbs seemed to weigh five tons. _"Hey, stay with me."_ She remembered that voice too. It was distorted, garbled as if spoken through a radio. Even so, she felt an immense sense of calm.

Something came over May. She sat back, eyebrow raised. "You have a shadow," May suddenly said.

Daisy didn't understand what any of it meant. Her brain wasn't quite up for any riddles.

May's eyes darted pointedly to the opposite side of the healing chamber.

The back of Daisy's head ached as it rolled to the right. She expected to see Deke, but was surprised by Sousa.

There was a stool pushed towards the corner of the room. Sousa sat on it, asleep. His body was too large for it. One wrong move and he would be on the floor. His neck was craned in a terrible position as his head rested against the nearest wall. He wore the same clothes as before. The collar was skewed on his rumpled white button up. He looked dirty and worn down, but certainly better than her last memory of him.

"How did you find the barn?" Daisy asked May.

"We didn't. The zephyr's scanners picked Sousa up in a parking lot near the lighthouse."

No matter how hard she tried, Daisy couldn't conjure up a memory of any escape. She had no idea how they got back here. "And Malick?"

"Dead. Sousa stole his van and put you in the back. He's been your shadow ever since."

"We're going home," he'd said. And she laid on that hard floor wondering why he was still there. While they had poked and prodded her he'd had ample opportunity to make a break for it. She remembered that now. Words of encouragement had come out of his mouth so strongly that she had actually started to believe him. _You need to fight. We're going home_. He could've decided that she was too much trouble and bolted, but he didn't. He'd pulled her out of there and he was still here.

A noise came from May. Daisy looked up and found May watching her with great interest. There was a tiny knowing smirk across her lips that screamed Mom face. It was as if May had just found her diary and read it. That's when it hit her. May basically did have a diary to draw from. Daisy's eyes went to their hands and knew that May was reading every feeling from her. Quickly, she pulled her hand away. There was a wicked gleam in May's eye. Feeling like she'd swallowed her tongue, Daisy could do nothing but gape back.

With a final quirk of her brow, May stood up. Silently on her feet, she moved towards Sousa. "Sleeping beauty," she called out, then slipped from the room like a gentle breeze of air.

Sousa jumped, startled awake. Heavy eyes automatically scanned the area for danger. Then slowly swung her way as if it had become a habit. All signs of sleep evaporated in him then. He sat up straighter, blinking. "You're awake."

"I'm awake." She couldn't think of anything else to say. Instead she watched.

He slid off the stool and began making his way towards her. His gait was relatively the same as before. The new position allowed her to see a smear of blood across the front of his shirt.

"Agent Johnson," he greeted, voice deepened by sleep. His eyes seemed to burn her with their intense focus. "They said it wouldn't take long but..." He laid a hand at the end of the chamber by her feet. A beam of white light made it's way towards him. "This is...well I would say a miracle but...it's the computer, right?" He asked, clearly still baffled by the technology.

Her eyebrows knitted together as she thought it over. Technically he was right. It was a machine with a computer guiding it's movements. "Yea," she answered.

The deep set of confusion on his face remained unchanged. Her brain was too foggy to explain basic computer functions let alone the complicated system that went into the healing chamber. If he wanted to know more he'd have to take it up with Simmons.

"How do you feel?" He asked, swinging his attention to her.

Testing her body, a minor sense of soreness blanketed her muscles. It was the same type of feeling she would get after a long workout. It wasn't the worst she'd ever felt by far. "Not terrible actually," she said in surprise. A few places ached more than others. She touched the patch of square gauze taped to the side of her neck. The jacket and pants she'd picked up in the 70's were nowhere in sight. Now her clothes were all black, a Shield issued training shirt and pants. Simmons' doing, she knew. Simmons had done the same for May after she'd been stabbed. May had recovered from her ordeal in superhuman time. It was time that Daisy got out of the chamber too. Her limbs were itching to stretch out.

She sat up and swung her legs down. The arm she had to support herself suddenly bucked under the weight. Brain swimming, she tumbled towards the floor. On her way forward she let out a surprised gasp.

"Easy," Sousa murmured, catching her around the waist.

A pain blossomed at the top of her head. Testing the spot, she poked it lightly. " _Ugh_ ," She groaned.

"You alright?" He asked, concerned. She felt the rumble of his voice and realized that her face was pressed in his chest. "I think," she murmured, trying to make the world stop spinning so quickly.

"You went through hell. Take a moment," he said, keeping their same positions. There they stayed, connected. The only sound in the room was their breathing. He was warm and his presence was reassuring. She felt safe. The buzz in her brain halted.

"I think I can function now," she attempted to joke.

She felt the strength in the corded muscle of his arm as he helped to right her. It was a familiar feeling somehow. "Thank you," she said, sitting up on the edge of the chamber.

He nodded. Their eyes held. A warmth blossomed in her chest. And she thanked god that he didn't have the same power as May.

"Uh here...let me get you some water." He disappeared somewhere behind her and came back holding a bottle of water. The first sip was heaven. She felt the coolness touch her throat and run through her. Sousa hovered at her side. Her eyes were drawn to the smudged dirt at his chin. A small scratch ran down his cheek but other than that he looked okay. After being handcuffed and drugged, she couldn't help wonder how he drove them to the Lighthouse. Let alone how Malick and his two goons had wound up dead. The mere presence of him reassured her that it hadn't all ended in disaster.

"So how..." She started, then thought better of it. "Did they hurt you?" Looks could be deceiving. There was no telling what could be going on underneath the surface of him.

"No, they didn't get a chance to." Dirt stains covered his shirt. Pieces of hay stuck up through his thick head of hair. She imagined he went a few rounds on the floor of that barn. "Thanks to you," he said, lifting his right hand. Layers of white bandaging looped around the span of his palm.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"The piece of glass," he supplied, pointing to her side. "We match."

He was right. The same type of bandage was taped over her left hand. She wiggled her fingers and a hazy memory of the sharp pain ripping through her palm came to her. Through her drug fuddled brain, she remembered the bottle that she'd knocked over. Malick's goons had been lifting her off the table, but she had just enough clarity to throw herself at the tray of tools and drugs. Some glass shattered and she quickly grabbed a piece of it.

She stared down at the blood that had seeped through the fresh bandage. In fact, there were three bandages wrapped down her arm. Desperate to extract anything of worth from her, Malick had stuck her with needles anywhere he saw a vein.

"You had it hidden under your skin...gonna be a hell of a scar," Sousa said.

Scars were nothing new. "I'll take that over the other option," she murmured almost to herself.

Swallowing hard, he nodded. "I'm sorry about Agent Coulson," he said quietly.

"He'll come back," she repeated May's words. "Somehow." Maybe if she said it aloud too she and May could will it into existence. But there was only so much hope one could have before it was permanently squashed like a boot to a bug.

"Could he...uh-" Sousa paused, scratching under his shirt collar. "Be...rebuilt?" Unsure of what he was even asking, the words were awkward on his tongue.

If they had the time and the parts, yes. But that was a big if. It would be up to Simmons, Enoch, and Deke. Maybe Fitz too if they could ever get him back. There were just too many factors at play to know anything for sure. "Maybe. He's advanced technology even in my time."

"Hmm," Sousa responded, thoughtful. She watched as he pulled out a small spiral notebook from his pants pocket. A black pen resided within the looped top. Sousa flipped the notebook open. With the pen cap gripped between his teeth, he put the pen to paper. "2020 no LMDs...with chronicom hardware," he murmured. "Good to know."

Puzzled, she couldn't help her curiosity. "What is that?"

Without hesitation, he offered up the notebook. His confidence was impressive. "I thought...if I'm gonna do this, then I need to learn," he explained.

As she flipped through the pages, she saw 2020 written at the top of one. Then 1976. The notebook was filled with lists sectioned off into years. Some words were hurried scribbles. Others were more elaborate strings of sentences spanning several lines. There were dozens of question marks spread out around the pages.

_Computers = **small**. _

_Chronicom. Strong robot. Enoch._

_Face stealer weapon?_

_Project Insight. Peggy. Bruce Banner (Avenger???)_

_1976: Wide pants. Rollerblades._

_Icer- shield knockout gun_

_Zephyr One- aircraft, cloaking technology, jumps through time_

Another page had the names of everyone on the team listed. 

_Enoch- chronicom (good), not human_   
_Mack- director of shield, big_   
_Agent Rodriguez- polite, aka Yo-Yo_   
_Agent May- serious, quiet_   
_Agent Coulson- chronicom & life model decoy, super strength_   
_Agent Johnson- Daisy, computers, powered, strong_   
_Agent Simmons- doctor_   
_Deke Shaw- from future?, related to Agent Simmons_

For the short time that he'd been with them, he'd accumulated an impressive amount of information.

She read another page. A few words stuck out:

_Cell Phones. (Cell?)_ _Photographs stuck inside phone._

It was amusing and sweet that he'd written down what she showed him. She chuckled.

"What?" He asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"The pictures in cell phones...they're not stuck. The phone is a camera too. It has a camera built into it."

"A camera and a phone?" His voice came slowly, clearly bewildered by the news.

"Yea," she confirmed.

He shook his head and it reminded her how unaccustomed he was to everything. The zephyr must feel like an alien spaceship to him.

She came to another page that only had one sentence on it.  
  
 _July 22, 1955-The day I died._

She glanced at him, hips leaning back on the hyperbaric chamber. For the first time she noticed the suspenders that he wore. There was a classic look about him. Besides the time she'd spent in 1955, she'd never seen anyone wear clothes like he did. It was a tiny reminder that he'd been thrown into this whirlpool of disaster. The urge she had to tease him about his notes withered away. Instead, she felt sorry for him. He was only doing the best that he knew how to. Adaptability was a clearly a quality that he possessed. She admired that about him. 

She handed the notebook back to him. "That's a good idea," she complimented, nodding. Who was she to critique how he coped and processed the uprooting of his life?

"Thanks." He took the notebook, but avoided her eyes.

With no choice in the matter they all had been plucked from their lives and tossed into a blender of time. Through the window in front of them, she saw May speaking to Simmons and Yo-Yo. Their heads were bent together. May had a hand on Yo-Yo's shoulder while Yo-Yo nodded slowly. Even with the distance between them, she could see the change in May. There was a renewed sense of conviction in her movements. She was helping to guide everyone just as Coulson would. It's what he always brought to the team. The man with bones and blood cells beneath the skin he wore. The man with a real heart and brain.

"They won't win," she said of the chronicoms and hydra. "We're going to find Coulson and he'll help us fix this," she told Sousa. Things would get better and they would get back to their own time. Maybe they could even get Sousa home. A strange feeling came over her then. A reminder that this wasn't destined to last. Something tugged at her gut and the smile slipped from her face at the prospect of him leaving. They'd formed some weird partnership. Somehow they just worked together. And she liked him. There was a fight inside of him that she was drawn to.

"If anyone can find a way. I'm sure you can, Agent Johnson." There was no hesitation to his words.

She looked at him and found that he was serious. Completely genuine in his comments. His eyes were kind and soft. He was the type of quiet observer that wasn't afraid to speak his mind. His gaze remained and she felt like he was really seeing who she was as a person instead of what she looked like on the outside. It felt nice. A heat crept up her neck. She ran a hand through her hair to dispel it.

"I should get your doctor," he suddenly said. He stood and started towards the door, taking slow, aching steps. She knew what it looked like when someone was hiding exhaustion. He'd been putting on a brave face the whole time.

When there was at least a few feet between them her stomach stopped flip-flopping. "By the way, I think you can call me Daisy now," she called out after a sudden urge took hold of her.

He paused and glanced back. There was something in his eyes. They had widened a fraction. She couldn't read him. For a moment, she feared that she'd pushed him too far past his comfort level. "It's kind of a post-torture rule I have," she said while shrugging, dispelling the serious nature of their experience.

He gave a nod. "Noted...Daisy," he said softly. His eyes seemed to smile.

She couldn't help the smile that appeared on her own face.

_//end//_

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading. Leave me something if you enjoyed!


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